Animal-trap.



S. H. SHELLEY.

ANIMAL TRAP.

No. 807,969. PATENTED DEC. 19, 1905.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15 1905.

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ANIMAL-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1905.

Application filed June 15, 1905. Serial No. 265,349-

.To aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, SrvnR'r H. SHELLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa Clara and State ofCalifornia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Animal-Traps,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in animal-traps, and particularlyin traps designed to catch gophers and rats.

The invention resides, essentially, in the use of a mirror disposed insuch a manner as to reflect the image of the animal and of entrappingmeans in the path traversable by the.

animal.

It comprises details of construction which will be more fully set forthhereinafter, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the application of my animal-trapto catch gophers. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the trap.

It has been discovered that animals such as gophers have an intenseantipathy for other members of their kind under certain conditions. Forinstance, the invasion of the home of one gopher by another will lead tomortal strife between them, and where gophers are plentiful it has beenobserved that a gopher caught in a trap will have been attacked by othergophers. On the other hand, rats are noted for their sociability andcuriosity,which qualities lead them'to gather together at everyopportunity.

The natural hate and distrust of one gopher for others of his speciesand the gregarious instincts of rats have been taken advantage of in thepresent invention.

A represents a box of suitable size open at one end and on the bottom.

2 is a loop jaw slidable in guides on the inner sides of the box andcooperating with the top of the box to catch and kill the animal. Theends of the loops extend up through the top of the box and connect withthe springarms 3.

A trigger 4E, pivoted to the top of the box, depends into the path ofthe animal to be caught, and its upper end forms a hook 5 to engage thebar 6, by which the trap is set.

A mirror 7 which is the essence of the invention, is secured to theinside of the closed end of the box, and a suitable opening 8 in the topand adjacent to the closed end of the box is made for the admission oflight.

In practice where it is desired to catch gophers the operator makes acut in the earth at the mouth of a gopher-hill large enough to receivethe trap. The latter is set, inserted into the cut open end downward,and covered with earth to exclude all light except that which may enterthrough the opening 8. hen a gopher discovers his front door open, heproceeds to investigate. As he approaches the trap the light throughopening 8 causes his image to be reflected in the mirror and mistakingit for an intruder makes a rush at it, only to encounter the trigger andrelease the trap, resulting in his destruction. The operation of thedevice is practically the same where rats or non-burrowers are to becaught, the essential consideration being the disposition of the mirrorrelative to the source of light in such manner that the victims image isreflected in the mirror. "Whether hatred, sociability, or curiosityprompts action on the part of the victim,the result to him is the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

A gopher-trap comprising a box-like structure having a closed top, sidesand one end,

SIVERT H. SHELLEY.

l/Vitnesses:

H. F. DUSING, H. L. VARREN.

